SACRAMENTO -- Manual and electronic measurements Friday showed the California snowpack's water content at about 20 percent of average for this time of year, according to the Department of Water Resources.

"That is a mere 7 percent of the average April 1 measurement, when the snowpack normally is at its peak before melting into streams and reservoirs to provide a third of the water used by California's cities and farms," according to DWR.

The last time California's statewide snowpack was this low was in 2012 when it also was 20 percent of the historical average. The readings Friday and in 2012 are the driest on record.

Friday's electronic readings indicate water content in the northern mountains is 11 percent of normal for the date and 4 percent of the April 1 average. In the central Sierra, it is 21 percent of normal for the date and 8 percent of the April 1 average. The numbers for the southern Sierra are 30 percent of average for the date and 10 percent of the April 1 average.

To view the full DWR press release, go to www.water.ca.gov/news.

Rainfall for calendar year 2013 was also at record lows for many areas of the state.

A mere 6.71 inches of rain fell at the Enterprise-Record's weather station in south Chico. Just 8.6 inches of rain fell at Oroville Dam. In an average year at both local sites, more than 25 inches falls.

Sacramento, which normally gets about 18 inches, ended up with 5.74 inches of precipitation. And downtown Los Angeles, which since 1906 has averaged 14.74 inches of rain, ended the year with 3.4 inches, beating the previous low of 4.08 inches recorded in 1953.

Water delivery estimates

DWR makes estimates of water deliveries for the 29 agencies that receive water from the State Water Project. Right now the estimate is at 5 percent, but would increase if winter storms develop.

In 2010, for example, which followed several years of drought, the delivery was 50 percent.

Last year the State Water Project received 35 percent. The allocation was 65 percent in 2012 and 80 percent in 2011.

The last full allocation was in 2006.

One worrisome issue is that water storage in reservoirs is already low.

Today Lake Oroville, the main State Water Project reservoir, is at only 36 percent of its 3.5 million acre-foot capacity (57 percent of its historical average for the date).

Shasta Lake, the federal Central Valley Project's largest reservoir, is at 37 percent of its 4.5 million acre-foot capacity (57 percent of average for the date).

San Luis Reservoir, a critical south-of-Delta reservoir for both the SWP and CVP, is at 30 percent of its 2 million acre-foot capacity (43 percent of average for the date).

A story in Sunday's paper will discuss what the water news means locally.